At least eight children who were evacuated from Gaza as premature babies in the early weeks of the war, have returned from Egypt and been reunited with their relatives.
The toddlers were among more than 30 severely ill newborns in incubators, who were evacuated from Gaza's Shifa Hospital in November 2023, during heavy fighting. The hospital complex had earlier been occupied by Israeli forces, who claimed it was being used by Hamas.
Sundus al-Kurd, a mother waiting for her daughter's return on Monday, expressed her mixed emotions of fear and joy; she worried she would not be accepted as a parent after their long separation. Clutching a pink-embroidered dress for her daughter Bisan at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, she recounted her attempts to take her newborn out of Shifa hospital before being told that Bisan could not be moved from her incubator. Months of uncertainty followed until she learned her daughter was alive in an Egyptian field hospital, recognized by her birth bracelet.
The return of these toddlers is a small triumph in an otherwise bleak situation, as Gaza remains ensnared in a precarious state between war and peace, grappling with internal divisions and the harsh realities of conflict.
The toddlers were among more than 30 severely ill newborns in incubators, who were evacuated from Gaza's Shifa Hospital in November 2023, during heavy fighting. The hospital complex had earlier been occupied by Israeli forces, who claimed it was being used by Hamas.
Sundus al-Kurd, a mother waiting for her daughter's return on Monday, expressed her mixed emotions of fear and joy; she worried she would not be accepted as a parent after their long separation. Clutching a pink-embroidered dress for her daughter Bisan at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, she recounted her attempts to take her newborn out of Shifa hospital before being told that Bisan could not be moved from her incubator. Months of uncertainty followed until she learned her daughter was alive in an Egyptian field hospital, recognized by her birth bracelet.
The return of these toddlers is a small triumph in an otherwise bleak situation, as Gaza remains ensnared in a precarious state between war and peace, grappling with internal divisions and the harsh realities of conflict.
